In the age of information, the ability to transmit and communicate information is the key to success in the fierce commercial competition. Therefore, along with the rapid development of technology, electronic devices with information processing ability, such as personal computer (PC), notebook computer, hand-held personal computer (HPC), personal digital assistant (PDA), etc., are becoming essential tools for business men all over the world
Among those electronic devices, the notebook computers are especially being benefit by the recent advance in technology in that they are being built smaller and smaller. Thus, it is important for such small-sized electronic devices to have effective means for preventing being damaged by electrostatic discharge (ESD) since Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), being a sudden and momentary electric current that flows between two objects at different electrical potentials caused by direct contact with each other or induced by an electrostatic field, is one of the major cause of device failure. Static electricity is often generated through tribocharging that is the separation of electric charges that occurs when two materials are brought into contact and then separated. Moreover, it is noted that a person can get triboelectrically charged in a number of ways, even by just walking across a room while causing frictions between fabrics that are worn on the person. In addition, even the friction resulting from the flowing of airflow through the surface of an electronic device's outer shell can cause the electronic device to become triboelectrically charged that can lead to an ESD event. Thus, as ESD is known to be a serious issue that may cause damage to electronic devices, many ESD prevention circuits or components had already been developed.
One such conventional ESD prevention apparatus 1 is shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, the ESD prevention apparatus 1 comprises: a housing 10 for a notebook computer, formed with an opening 100 that is sealed by a cover 11. It is noted that the opening 100 is provided for facilitating a user to replace any component in the notebook computer or for the maintenance of the notebook computer. Generally, the interior of the housing 10 is formed with a conductive layer 101 by coating or sputtering, by that the electrostatic charge, being build-up on the housing 10 and transferred to the conductive layer 101 through the heat-dissipating holes 12, is further being guided to a ground terminal.
However, since the conducting of the electrostatic charge is interrupted and broken at the interfacing between the opening 100 and the cover 11, conventionally for continuing the conduction there will be an anti-ESD plate 13 being arranged at the interfacing that is fixed on the housing 10 by the use of a heat fusion joint 14. Operationally, when the opening 100 is sealed by the cover 11, the conductive layer 110 of the cover 11 is electrically connected with the conductive layer 101 of the housing 10, and thereby, the electrostatic charge, being build-up on the cover 11 and transferred to its conductive layer 110 through the holes 111, is further being guided to the anti-ESD plate 1 where it is guided to the conductive layer 101 of the housing 10 and then finally to the ground terminal.
Although the conventional ESD prevention apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is capable of preventing ESD from happening effectively, any failure or damage to the heat fusion joint 14 may cause the anti-ESD plate 13 to be separated from the housing 10 and fall inside the notebook computer that may cause the electronic devices inside the notebook computer or the motherboard thereof to burn-out. Therefor, it is in need of an improved anti-ESD plate and device for overcoming the aforesaid shortcoming.
Another such conventional ESD prevention apparatus is an anti-electromagnetic interference (EMI) plate, disclosed in TW. Pat. Pub. No. 450513. The foregoing plate, being configured with a first extension and a second extension that are interconnected with each other through the turning ends thereof, can be clamped an electronic device while enabling a contact part formed on the plate to engage with an EMI source for guiding the electromagnetic wave as well as the electrostatic discharge generated therefrom out of the electronic device.
One another conventional ESD prevention apparatus is an anti-EMI connecting plate, disclosed in TW. Pat. Pub. No. 487304. The foregoing connecting plate, being formed as a rectangle panel enclosed inside a U-shaped frame that have a plurality of raised fots formed on a outer side of the frame, can be inset into an opening of a back plate component while enabling the elastic plate extending out of the rim of the frame to engage tightly with the back plate component for achieving anti-EMI as well as anti-ESD effect.